Monday, September 21, 2009

Workplace Diversity

The idea of diversity in the workplace has changed in recent years, and we are excited to see the changes this has brought to how workers see themselves and their colleagues.

Older paradigms looked at gender or race when thinking about how a workplace could be diverse. Later views, especially after the implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, broadened the meaning of diversity to include individuals with physical disabilities -- those who might use a wheelchair or have visual or hearing impairments.

But there is a growing understanding that true diversity also includes understanding and appreciating different learning styles among one's colleagues, and that such a perspective touches on all employees in a workplace, since each one has their own unique learning style. We have seen this diversity in adults in our work here at The Yellin Center, which includes evaluations and consultations with medical students, graduate students and professionals in the workplace. In each instance we have been able to help these adults understand how they learn to help them improve their performance in the tasks that are part of their profession or course of study.

This week Dr. Yellin will be speaking to employees of the U.S. Department of Labor, New York Region, as part of their Diversity Day program. It is encouraging to see that understanding different learning styles is becoming an important part of understanding what makes for a truly diverse workplace.

About The Yellin Center

The Yellin Center for Mind, Brain, and Education is an independent educational evaluation and student care practice dedicated to helping all learners experience genuine success in school and in life. The Yellin Center is affiliated with the New York University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics.

Services provided at The Yellin Center include comprehensive, independent educational evaluations, consultation, advocacy and transition support, educational therapy, academic coaching, psycho-educational evaluation, referral services, parenting support, professional development and more. We work with students from Pre-K through Post-Secondary and early professional levels, including law and medical students and adults. For more information about The Yellin Center or any of our programs, please call us at 646-775-6646 or send an email.